Storm Dennis: Floods Across Herefordshire

[Hereford Voice]

The River Wye reached record breaking levels of 6.111 metres!! The previous record was set back in 1998 at 5.66 metres. As a result the Old Bridge has been closed to traffic and the Victoria bridge is virtually submerged underwater. The flood defence wall along Hinton Road is also threatening to collapse under the sever pressure.

[Alex]

These pictures are unbelievable, I have never seen the river so high

[Mick]

Feel so sorry for these people who have had their homes wrecked by these floods

[Paul Jones]

A lot of water, 700 tons per second according to the news tonight passed thru the old bridge 

[Steve Major]

I have never seen it this bad.

[megilleland]

The Guardian
Sun 23 Feb 2020
Josh Halliday and Luke Barratt

More than 11,000 homes in England to be built on land at high risk of flooding

Exclusive Guardian and Greenpeace analysis finds areas hit by recent storms are planning houses on floodplains

(extract from article)

An analysis of planning documents reveals that 11,410 new homes have been planned for land the government considers high-risk in the seven English counties where thousands of properties have been devastated by flooding since November.

A joint investigation by the Guardian and Greenpeace’s Unearthed news unit found that of the 11,410 new homes planned across seven flood-stricken English authorities, 1,479 are in four of the areas hit hardest by Storms Ciara and Dennis: Calderdale, Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcester.

In Herefordshire, which experienced unprecedented flooding last week as the River Wye rose to the highest level since 1795, 325 homes are earmarked for high-risk flood zones over the next few years. Some of this land has already been left underwater by Storm Dennis, according to the Herefordshire council leader, David Hitchiner.

John Harrington, the council’s cabinet member for infrastructure and transport, described the government’s housing policy as “completely and utterly flawed” and that it was forcing local authorities to approve “idiotic” developments on floodplains so they can meet demands from Whitehall.

“Central government just say: ‘There’s a housing target, now go do it.’ It’s really quite stupid. It’s devolving responsibility without giving the authority any power or money to deal with the situation. It is absolutely unacceptable,” he said.